Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-04-02
The Emancipation Of Massachusetts. !"
New YORK cathoIIc RevIew.


New York Catholic Review.
There is no question as to the mental
activity OF New England That natur-
ally barren corner OK the United States
has at all events been productive OF
much thought, and OF the six States
which constitute the region Massachu-
setts has undoubtedly always taken the
lead. The public school system OF the
United States took It's Origin in New
England, the larger part Of the text
books, which have underlain the i'm
struction in those schools, were written
either in New England. or by men
and women-of New England birth.
The glorihcation OF New England, and
especially OF Massachusetts,, has been
easy OF accomplishment. The average
American has been made to feel that
what he mad of political liberty, rehg-
ious t'uth, or moral standing, he owed
to great extent to the puritans OF
Massachusetts Bay or TO some other
New England source.
II IL true that from time to time ir-
reverent Iccnoclasts have defaced the
New England idols. Only few years
ago Washington lawyer embodied in
a pamphlet the curious researches OF a
lifetime as to the antecedents of the
'Pilgram Fathers" the real PERSONAL
ties and conduct OF those worthless
while IN England, and their career
during their successive wandering in
England, and Holland until their final
settlement at Plymouth Rock. 1t was
startling chapter Of history no doubi
TO those who had hitherto been unsus-
picious OF the real facts. Instead oil
straight-laced, yet restrained and pious,
If grim, heroes, so often eloquenuy ex-
tolled at high-toned banquets in Decem-
Der, body OF brawling, mischieyous,
| llll-condltioned fanatics, not nearly sc
dignified in their behavior as our taLs-
borlne-thumping Salvation Army, VIE
shown-a whimsical queer-faced, half
delnented lot OF "cranks," many 81
them cobblers and tinkers, who seemed
to combine at once all the extravagan.
cies OF doctrine that the confusion ol
the so-called Reformation had let loose
upon the world; inspirationism, lailh
cure, splritism, communism, and even,
at times, free-love- it was no wonder
that the staid and rather conservative
Protestanism Of Holland was grieved al
the antics of these pilgrims" )" who had
been warmly welcomed in ignorance oI
their real character. The local courts
of England had prosecuted" the pill
grims; nowadays the word "prose-
\ put nd' twoi,ld ha ,,rafarraJ II ,,,oa :, =
wonder either that our New York
Dutch, hearing Ct the approach Of the
"pilgrIms" To New Amsterdam, re.
sorted to shrewd device to ward of
the blessing" Of such settlers. What
would New York be to-day if the Pill,
grims had landed here instead OF al
Plymouth Rock? There IS room fol
much conjecture.
But whatever criticism might have
been made ON the famous band OF Pill
grims, one would hardly expect that
non-Catholic Massachusetts man, and
OF the name OF Adams, too, would SC
rudely tear away the symbols OF almost
ldolatrous worship that have been sci
on the heads OF the great New England
'diyines" of the olden day. Yet that
is what is done, in work recently pub.
lished in Boston by Houghton, Mifllin
& Co.--"The Emancipation Of Massa.
chusetts" by Mr. Brooks Adams. The
theory which Mr.. Adams putsiforth i,
that the Massachusetts,. ".diyinesp of for
mer days were brood OF tyrants, and
that Massachusetts was not thorough,
emancipated until the yoke OF the pc
culiar; Puritan religious teachings, and
the practices following from those teach
l,ipgs, had been thrown off,
i lM course Catholic will see in al
this much that probably Mr.. Adams
I does not see. Whether the Mathers
were insincere hypocrltes as we'll as
| ttyrants, as Mr.. Adams contends, or not
scarcely matters. They we're neces.
sary part OF that distorted form OF Chris
tianity which mistakes unregulated inn
pulse for the grace OF God and crude
egotism for holiness. !, Mr.. Adams
book is only another evidence OF what
all calm students of !!American history
must have become. certain Of long ago
namely, that whatever the United State,
may owe TO New England in genera
and to Massachusetts in particular, is
due to the people Of New England in
pependently OF Puritanisnl, or rather in
spite Of Puritanism. ~